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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28555173">A Rainbow Reunion</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfiniteEcho/pseuds/InfiniteEcho'>InfiniteEcho</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Kuroko no Basuke x Haikyuu [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!, Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Copious amounts of flashbacks, Crossover, Established Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Generation of Miracles are kinda jerks, Hinata Shouyou Has ADHD, Hinata plays basketball, Hinata went to Teiko, M/M, Panic Attacks, Reunions, Team as Family, They Get Over It Though, Timeline What Timeline, hinata has anxiety, no beta we die like daichi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:33:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,942</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28555173</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfiniteEcho/pseuds/InfiniteEcho</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They really should have seen this coming. Daichi had run into members of his middle school at tournaments, Kagayama regularly went up against his peers, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise for Hinata to finally run into some of his friends. Yet, they didn’t expect them to be so tall.</p><p>Or to play an entirely different sport.</p><p>----</p><p>This is my take on Hinata being a part of the Generation of Miracles during middle school before breaking off to become the next Tiny Giant. </p><p>AKA: THE GENERATION OF MIRACLES NEEDS ORANGE</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Kuroko no Basuke x Haikyuu [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113641</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>279</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Rainbow Reunion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26299585">The Sun in a Sky full of Stars</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweet4sSuqa/pseuds/Sweet4sSuqa">Sweet4sSuqa</a>.
        </li>
        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/6966814">Birds Don't Just Fly (We Fall Down and Get Back Up)</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yersina/pseuds/Yersina">Yersina</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Now I kinda majorly screwed with the timeline to make this work so here are some things you need to know:</p><p>1. This is taking place around August, after the Summer Camp in Haikyuu<br/>2. Takes place after the Winter Cup in Kuroko no Basuke, the GoM realizes they were kinda jerks.<br/>3. Kise (from Kuroko no basket) started basketball his first year, not his second year.<br/>4. The GoM is 1 year older than Hinata, making them second years when Hinata is a first-year.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shouyou Hinata could be described with a lot of words, from determined to hyperactive to a person with a one-track mind. Something all these words lend themselves to well is sports. While there are tons of words that people describe him with, the most common of all is “sporty”. From the second Hinata started walking, he was running. The limitless energy he is so well known for lends itself pretty well to sports, which became his parents' go-to activity to tire him out for bed. </p><p>Hinata couldn’t be classified as a jack-of-all-trades, no. He was far from good at all sports, but he had the drive and energy to put in the necessary work to become good. A lot of kids, and adults, only like something if they are good at it. Hinata, on the other hand, reveled in being horrible. “It just means I have room to improve!” was his catchphrase. While some kids’ walls were lined with gold and silver medals, Hinata had bins full of participation awards.</p><p>The first sport Hinata ever joined a team for was football, otherwise known as soccer. While he certainly wasn’t the star player, he definitely had the upper hand with his energy. Towards the end of the game, when the players were tired from running up and down a field for upwards of 45 minutes, Hinata had enough energy to keep scoring. Did that mean he scored? No, he missed more times than not, but he tried.</p><p>But growing up in the big city of Tokyo meant that playing soccer was a bit out of the way, and so Hinata spread his wings to other sports. Tennis, Badminton, running, you name it, he probably tried it. Although Hinata gained a lot of experience from doing multiple sports, it also helped him narrow down what aspects he liked most. Such as, he preferred to touch the ball more than using a racket, and team sports were more up his alley than solo ones. </p><p>After years of trying multiple sports, when middle school rolled around, Hinata had two main sports, Volleyball and Basketball. Applying to Teiko Middle School was a no-brainer for Hinata, (even though he had to study like crazy), because of their basketball record. Even though Teiko had many other records for various other sports, there was no program as famous as their basketball club. It was there where Hinata thought he met his friends for life.</p><p>While Hinata certainly wasn’t good enough to be a regular, he was good enough to be a part of their first string team. It was a major honor, even if he didn’t get to play in official games all that much. That was because of what is now known as the Generation of Miracles, a group of 5 prodigies who reshaped middle school basketball. To many schools, the Generation of Miracles were a terrifying enigma that haunted their nightmares. But to Hinata? They were his closest friends.</p><p>But not every friendship lasts forever.<br/>
------<br/>
Coming back from a long trip, anyone would be tried, but for Sawamura Daichi and Sugawara Koushi, they were beyond exhausted. The training camp in Tokyo was a major success, and the team was eager to practice new techniques (after a good night's sleep). It actually wasn’t the camp that drained the couple, but one specific player.</p><p>	“Hey, Kageyama! Will you set to me for a while? I really want to get in some practice before I go home!” A clear voice rang out into the quiet evening, belonging to the carrot top spiker.</p><p>	“HOW ARE YOU NOT TIRED?” Multiple voices replied, the loudest belonging to Sugawara and Daichi, followed by Kageyama himself. </p><p>	“All Hinata does is practice and run, and yet he never runs out of energy. How do you think he does it?” Sugawara whispered to his boyfriend.<br/>
Daichi shrugged and murmured “Double-A batteries?”</p><p>	Although Hinata’s limitless energy was draining, that wasn’t their issue. For the last week, while in Tokyo, he had been acting strange. Checking his phone, which was going off more than usual, and constantly checking over his shoulder. It was almost as if he felt in danger. Paranoid didn’t begin to describe the tiny middle blocker. At first, they contributed his restless sleep to being in a new place, but his sleep never improved, and it was getting quite concerning to the rest of the club.</p><p>	Hinata and Kagayama began to argue over what, who knows, but it let the remaining club members discuss their teammates' strange behavior.</p><p>	“Is it just me, or did Hinata not sleep during this trip?” Tanaka questioned his teammates, as blunt as ever.</p><p>	“He was always awake when I went to sleep, and awake when I woke up,” Yamaguchi supplied, yawning, “Looking at him just makes me tired.” </p><p>	“He was always practicing until the last moment.” Tsukishima contributed, “It was almost as if the tiny terror was trying to be good at something.” That earned the tall blond an elbow from Yamaguchi. </p><p>	The team resolved to talk to Hinata at the next practice, as they were all too tired to have that potentially draining conversation after a 5-hour bus ride. Although, watching their teammate bike off into the hills left a sour taste in their mouths. </p><p>-----<br/>
It was becoming very clear to the Karasuno volleyball team, that although they knew how Hinata played, they didn’t actually know the boy that well. When confronted about his odd sleeping habits and excessive practicing, Hinata responded that he was pumped to be back home.</p><p>“Home?” the club echoed.</p><p>“Yeah!” Hinata smiled and started bouncing the volleyball in his hands, “Did you not know that I was born and raised mostly in Tokyo?” While half the team was in shock from this new information, the other was curious as to how that was possible. </p><p>“But you competed here in Miagi last year!” Kageyama couldn’t believe his ears. Hinata attempted a serve that almost made it over the net, but didn’t quite make it.<br/>
“I transferred schools during our final year of junior high. Before that, I went to Teiko in Tokyo!” Now the team was on the same page again,<br/>
“TEIKO?!?”<br/>
“How did a stupid shrimp like him get into Teiko?”<br/>
“Why would you go there, you play volleyball?”<br/>
“How can you get into Teiko but can’t fill in a scantron correctly?” Questions were flying left and right about Hinata’s experiences at Teiko. But none were answered as Coach Ukai called them to play.</p><p> </p><p>------<br/>
They really should have seen this coming. Daichi had run into members of his middle school at tournaments, Kagayama regularly went up against his peers, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise for Hinata to finally run into some of his friends. Yet, they didn’t expect them to be so tall.</p><p>Or to play an entirely different sport.</p><p>Thinking back on it, it made sense to Karasuno that Hinata would have played multiple sports. After all, he was considered an athletic person with his never-ending energy. But basketball? It was uncommon enough for someone of Hinata’s height to be playing middle blocker, but to be playing basketball? It was absurd. And yet, here they stood, in the almost empty hallways after a practice match, just outside the locker rooms, in front of a bunch of basketball players.</p><p>It wasn’t all that uncommon to run into other teams that were using the same venue as them as they left. What was uncommon was for someone who didn’t play volleyball to call out to the team. Daichi expected someone to hand off a jacket or maybe a runaway volleyball, after all, they would probably know who it belonged to. </p><p>So to come face to face with some massive basketball players, with no volleyball in sight was weird, to say the least.<br/>
-----</p><p>To be fair, it didn’t seem like the tallest of the bunch played basketball, but he was surrounded by players wearing Seirin High School uniforms. While Karasuno wasn’t the most focused on sports, they would have to be both blind and deaf not to hear about Seirin’s rise to the top last year during the Winter Cup. Needless to say, the team was in awe. It’s not every day you run into national champions unless you are Hinata, who for some reason has a knack for finding famous people. </p><p>	Daichi reasoned that they were next to use the locker room, and were simply waiting for the Karasuno team to leave before getting changed. Usually, Koushi was good about getting the team in and out on time, even if it came to literally carrying Hinata so he wouldn’t get lost, so it was a bit weird that they were behind schedule but Daichi could write off the mistake as Koushi being extra tired from the days game. </p><p>	As the last of the Karasuno Volleyball Club left the locker room, Daichi decided they had been standing in silence a bit too long. </p><p>“Sorry for taking part of your time, if I knew we were running late I would have hurried the team up,” He chuckled, “I’ll double-check we didn’t leave anything behind and then we will be out of your way!” Daichi bowed in apology and turned to make sure everyone was out when a player stepped forward, number 4 on his jersey, declaring him captain.</p><p> “No, it’s our apologies, we are early.” the newcomer said. Daichi knew immediately who it was. Junpei Hyuga, a legend among captains. One of the founders of the Seirin Basketball team, who led their team to win the Winter Cup in his second year of high school.  </p><p>Daichi had never been more grateful for his poker face, as he was internally screaming. <i>“THE Junpei Hyuga was apologizing to me?”</i></p><p>	But instead of having a full-on freakout in front of a living legend, Daichi simply smiled and shook his head, “It’s alright, better early than late. Who are you up against?”</p><p>	“Seiho” Hyuga replied, and he seemed to relax slightly, perhaps he was afraid of the team getting angry. </p><p>“Well I wish you the best of luck,” Daichi started “from one captain to another-OOF-” He was cut off by a tiny body running into him. He felt himself lose his balance but quickly stopped both himself and his attacker from falling.</p><p>“CAPTAIN,” The tiny body cried, pulling away to hide behind him “I think Bakaeyama is really going to kill me this time!”  </p><p>	Daichi couldn’t find the energy to be both embarrassed in front of a legend and be calm enough to deal with his team. “Hinata, what did you do this time?” he sighed.</p><p>“Who said it was my fault?” Hinata cried<br/>
“Kagayama only wants to kill you if you hit him, take something, or lose something.” Daichi reasoned.</p><p>“Shouyou?” A new voice entered the conversation, and Hinata froze, which was terrifying in and of itself. Hinata never stops moving, even when he's sleeping. The color drained from his face and he tensed so fast Daichi was surprised he didn’t hear a snap. </p><p><i>Shouyou?</i> Daichi thought, no one calls him that. Hinata always got snippy if his first name was mentioned, but excused as only his mom called him that when he was in trouble. When Karasuno got close enough with each other, some players started calling each other by nicknames, but Hinata never let them call him anything related to his hair or his first name. </p><p>Hinata slowly turned his head, heart pounding.</p><p><i>It wasn’t them, right?</i> Hinata was sure no one from the Miracles was on the Serin team. He glanced around, slowly observing the group, instead of vaguely acknowledging them as he had done before. </p><p>His heart picked up speed.</p><p>Green Hair</p><p>His breathing picked up, and he registered the person next to Green.</p><p>Golden yellow</p><p>Hinata felt sweat drip down his back, and he finally looked toward the person who called his name.</p><p>Heterochromatic eyes found his terrified brown</p><p>The adrenaline was pumping in his veins</p><p>Hinata didn’t think twice before bolting, ignoring the cries of his captain and the people he pushed past. </p><p>This wasn’t a joke like with Tobio, he knew his boyfriend would never actually hurt him. But this was different.<br/>
These friends-no, they couldn’t be called his friends anymore. Not after they tore his dreams to pieces before leaving him in the dust to suffer. </p><p>His quick footsteps were echoed by quick thoughts. </p><p>His Senpai’s were here. Why were they here? </p><p>He left Tokyo for a reason, and not just because his mom was offered a better position in Miagi.<br/>
He purposefully never told anyone where he was transferring to. He stayed below the radar in basketball and rekindled his love of volleyball. They weren’t supposed to find him.</p><p>Hinata’s busy mind registered the heavy thumping behind him, one feature that could never belong to a Karasuno crow. He risked glancing behind him, only to regret meeting the blue eyes of Aomine. </p><p>Despite the fury blazing within them, Hinata was shocked to recognize the hurt in Aomine’s eyes, the same hurt that could be found in Hinata’s. </p><p>Hinata shook off the surprise of his former teammates' pain and turned forward once again only to run into a wall. </p><p>Only, it wasn’t a wall.</p><p>Hinata felt his heart drop to the soles of his feet when he felt a large hand on his head and glanced up to find the purple hair that was missing from the group. </p><p>Hinata could have sworn that his heart stopped as the firm claw prevented him from running and heavy footsteps caught up with him. </p><p>
  <i>This couldn’t be happening. </i>
</p><p>
  <i></i>
</p><p>
  <i></i>
</p><p>
  <i>Did they want to destroy this dream too?</i>
</p><p>Hinata knew he couldn’t outrun Aomine now that he has caught up, Aomine has always been the fastest. </p><p>Hinata spun around, hoping that maybe this was all a bad dream and he wouldn’t find the people who haunted his nightmares behind him. But alas, there was no mistaking the tanned skin of Aomine, and the rapidly approaching rainbow of colored hair. The hand upon his head slid down to his shoulder, thick fingers digging in, a silent warning. Don’t move. As much as Hinata’s feet wanted to continue the race to freedom, his head knew that his former teammates were not above tackling and pinning him. </p><p>The idea used to bring a smile to the orangette, it was a fun game to play while cooling down. They would head out to the track and begin a slow job, before sprinting into a full-on game of tag. Once you got tagged, you were done with running and would move on the stretching. The last two were often Aomine and Hinata, and the rest of the team would come together to tackle them.</p><p>The image now sent a chill down his spine. </p><p>Maybe if he pretended this was just a case of mistaken identity, he could get away. He could sprint towards the bus or maybe his teammates, and hide until it was time to go. Daichi and Suga wouldn’t leave him behind, right? They are really good about making sure he is the first one on the bus, but maybe this time they would decide he was simply too much and leave him to the sharks. </p><p>No, no. Hinata couldn’t think like that. His fellow crows, besides Tsukishima, had never given any indication that they hate him. They are his team! </p><p>But that never stopped the Teiko team before.</p><p>While Hinata has a history of being intimidated by tall people, no one scared him more than Akashi, the shortest, besides Hinata of Teiko. While Aomine could keep up with Hinata physically, Akashi was the only one to reign in his mind. But that just might be the ADHD.</p><p>Feeling the heavy hand of Murasakibara on his shoulder, hearing the heavy breathing of Aomine, and watching the final three approach was almost too much for his brain. Hinata’s hands were moving without the consent of his brain and were trying to pry the thick fingers off of his shoulder. But one glare from his former captain was enough to freeze Hinata in his tracks. </p><p>Unsurprisingly, it was Kise Ryouta who made the first move.<br/>
“Shouyoucchi!”<br/>
Hinata found himself wrapped in warm arms and lifted from the ground. Although his brain began freaking out, his body could help to relax in the familiar hug.<br/>
“Where have you been? I missed you so much, and when I tried to find you, no one knew where you went!”<br/>
That was kinda the point, Hinata mentally responded. </p><p>“Kise, put Shouyou down before you strangle him.” The cool voice that belonged to Midiorma berated the blonde. Once Hinata’s feet were solidly on the floor, he found himself wrapped up in another hug, but this one was unexpected.</p><p>The greenette has never been much for affection, verbal or physical, so being wrapped in Midorima’s arms was shocking. The hug lasted maybe 1 or 2 seconds at most, but the fact Mirdorima was hugging him spoke volumes of the chaos Hinata caused.</p><p>While leaving was best for Hinata at the time, there wasn’t another option, perhaps leaving without a trace was a bit cruel.<br/>
</p><p>The volleyball captain was rarely confused. Yes, his teammates did often baffle him with their bullcrap, but they always did things with a reason. With the shared brain cell between 10 players, it wasn’t very hard to find out why they did what they did. But for once, Daichi had no idea why Hinata ran. So when Kageyama finally caught up to the team, holding a volleyball, Daichi did a quick headcount before saying a quick goodbye to the equally confused Seirin team and ushering the team down the hall in which Hinata ran. </p><p>	Kageyama could have sworn his heart stopped when he saw Hinata surrounded, the previous anger stilling in his veins. </p><p>Kageyama could see the red tunneling his vision, and before he could blink he was standing with his back to his boyfriend, glaring at the demented rainbow in front of him. </p><p>Hinata didn’t recognize Tobio’s voice when he growled out, “Who are you, and what do you think you’re doing with my teammate?”</p><p>Four of the five miracles looked taken aback, it wasn’t very often someone stood up to them with no fear. While the Miracles knew that they had changed, word hadn’t quite spread about their change of heart, and they still spread fear wherever they went. </p><p>Kageyama could admit he was scared, but the raging fire burned out the freezing fear trying to work its way through his veins. </p><p>The only person not taken aback was the shortest of the bunch and in Kageyama’s opinion (and just about everyone else’s on the planet) the scariest. Akashi Seijuro, captain of the Generation of Miracles. </p><p>The smaller man stepped forward, meeting Kageyama’s fiery gaze. “We just wanted to chat with our old middle school friend and teammate.” He said innocently.<br/>
Kageyama felt that sentence hit me like a bullet, Hinata didn’t often bring up middle school, but when he did it was clear to Kageyama that Hinata had an equally if not worse middle school experience than himself.<br/>
-----<br/>
Hinata once told him that when they first met, Kageyama’s demeanor scared him. “It reminded me so much of my old team, with all those demands,” he choked out once on a walk. “I was so terrified I was walking into a middle school repeat.”</p><p> Shock rolled through Kageyama, his boyfriend was once terrified of him. </p><p>Kageyama opened his mouth, ready to profusely apologize.<i> How do I make this better? I never wanted to scare you! I was worried I would be paired with someone who wouldn’t try again, oh god I messed up so badly… I need to make this better, oh why am I so stupid?</i></p><p>Hinata cut him off before he could even begin, “Don’t.” Hinata said softly,” Don’t apologize Tobio. It was a difficult time for us both, and we have both changed so much since then. Yeah, you messed up but so did I.” </p><p>All Kageyama could do was say “I’m sorry.” He hoped those two words would say everything he couldn’t. <i>I’m sorry I was so mean, I’m sorry I suck at emotions, I promise I have changed for the better, I love you.</i><br/>
---</p><p>Before he could stop himself, Kageyama’s mouth was open and the words “As if I would let you get near my boyfriend” were flying out. </p><p>It wasn’t really a secret to Karasuno, as the pair spent most of their time together anyway so the only difference between their friendship and relationship was the title. It wasn’t like Hinata and Kageyama were ashamed of their relationship, but they sure were not super obvious about it.</p><p>In fact, this was the first time the Crows had heard Kageyama say boyfriend.</p><p>While Karasuno didn’t mind, it seemed like the Miracles did.</p><p>If Kageyama wasn’t so hyped on adrenaline, the cold dead states of the 5 scariest sports played would have stopped his heart. </p><p>The bluenette moved first, Aomine.</p><p><i> “What did you just say?” </i>The words may have been phrased like a question, but Kageyama knew they had heard him the first time. </p><p>“You heard me.” Kageyama’s voice was steady and he could feel his boyfriend’s warm hand in his own. </p><p>“No I don’t think I did,” Midorima cut in, “because I think I just heard you call Shouyou your boyfriend, which is impossible.”</p><p>Kageyama glared at the greenette, “And why is that impossible?”</p><p>The blond spoke next, “Because Shouyouiicchi isn’t gay!” </p><p>“What kind of ideas has your microscopic team been filling your head with, Sho?” Murasakibara added in. </p><p>“It may have been a while since we have seen each other, Shouyou, but I don’t know if you are thinking straight if this your boyfriend.” Akashi cut in</p><p>Hinata finally had enough.<br/>
Yelling, “Just shut up already!”, Hinata stepped forward.<br/>
“You don’t get to have an opinion anymore, Akashi! None of you do!” Hinata squeezed his boyfriend’s hand, a reassurance that he wasn’t alone.<br/>
“Not after you told me to give up my dreams!”</p><p>Midorima cut in, “We never told you to give up, Shouyou.”</p><p>Hinata rolled his eyes, “Oh I’m sorry, you’re right.” He leveled a glare at Akashi “I believe you said, and I quote ‘A non-neurotypical vertically challenged sports player will never make it far’, did I get that right?” </p><p>“They told you WHAT!” Kageyama’s grip tightened, “That’s it Sho, I don’t care they used to be your friends, I’m-”</p><p>“You are doing nothing, Tobio,” Hinata cut in, his eyes never leaving Miracles, “because after I tear these guys a new asshole since they seem to think it’s a personality trait, we are going to get ice cream and I can cry.”</p><p>Hinata’s once warm voice was ice, something the Miracle’s had never felt before. “I’m sick of you all trying to control my life, so take your stupid homophobic opinions about my boyfriend, shove them up your ass right next to your heads,” Hinata’s voice grew, ”and leave mE ALONE!”</p><p> </p><p>A smooth voice cut through the growing tension like a knife, “What is going on here?”</p><p>Everyone startled, as they hadn’t heard anyone approach.</p><p>A smaller light bluenette stepped forward between the basketball and volleyball players, eyeing the Miracles, and finally letting his ice blue eyes land on Hinata.<br/>
The newcomer let out a small hum of acknowledgment, looking the middle block up and down before letting out a small sigh of relief.</p><p> “Shouyou..” He breathed, his voice as silent as his approach. “It has been a while, how are you?”</p><p>Hinata finally regained his bearings and gave a small smile to his old friend, the only one he hadn’t left on bad terms. </p><p>“I have been better, Tetsuya,” He forced out and glanced back at the Miracles, “I see you still have sour company.”</p><p>Tetsuya glared at the Miracles, before saying softly, “Despite all the evidence to the contrary, they have changed, Shouyou.”</p><p>The orangette crossed his arms, “Really?” he scoffed, “They seem the same to me.”</p><p>Akashi rolled his eyes, “Of course we seem the same, you haven’t let us talk to you!”</p><p>“And why should I?!” Hinata spat, “In the 5 minutes we have been standing here, you have insulted me, my boyfriend, my team, and my decisions! So give me one good reason I should stand here and listen!”</p><p>His voice echoed through the empty halls of the sports center, and Hinata winced at his volume. No one needed to hear this, let alone innocent citizens.</p><p>Hinata was becoming so caught up in his own rage and thoughts, he almost missed the quiet</p><p>“We’re sorry, and we used to be friends, we want to fix what we broke.” from Murasakibara.</p><p>“F-fix me?!” Hinata stuttered out, barely containing laughter, “I fixed myself, I don’t need your apologies. I filled the cracks in my heart with people who care about me, and not just the scoreboard.” Hinata shook his head and began walking towards the entrance.</p><p>He stopped for a split second and glanced over his shoulder. “Once you realize that not everything needs or wants to be fixed by whoever broke it, then come talk to me.” </p><p>And continued walking away. </p><p>------</p><p>	As Hinata’s footsteps continued to get further and further away, the remaining group gathered shook themselves from their daze and eyed each other warily.</p><p>Daichi dealt with fighting between teammates all the time, that was nothing new. Sometimes there would be fighting between teams at matches, which while it occurred less often, it wasn’t groundbreaking.<br/>
Now fighting between old friends? That was uncharted territory for the captain.</p><p>But Daichi did what Daichi does best, deal with others first and then have a breakdown on his own time. He herded the remaining crows towards Hinata as the mysterious Tetsuya seemed to be ushering the Miracles towards the locker room.  </p><p>As the teams disappeared from each other's sights, Suga quietly approached the captain</p><p>“What if we stayed and watched the Serin game?” he murmured<br/>
“Why would we do that?” Daichi was taken aback at his boyfriend's lack of empathy, “Hinata clearly doesn’t want to stick around any longer, so why would we force him to watch?”</p><p>Suga sighed, for as observant as Daichi was, he sometimes lacked the ability to read others. “Hinata is making an emotion-based decision right now, he isn’t using his head,” Suga shook his head,” if we take off right now, Hinata will likely never see his old friends again, and once he uses his head he might regret that.” </p><p>Daichi narrowed his eyes, not following his boyfriend's line of thought, “So?” He questioned, “Space will help clear his head, I’m sure if he wanted to see them again he could seek them out.”</p><p>Suga gestured to the gym around them, “But what better place to think than a gym? The game will be about forty minutes, and it will give him time to think. If he doesn’t want to talk to them we leave, but if he does he will have the opportunity.”</p><p>-------</p><p>Hinata couldn’t believe his captain, suggesting to stick around and watch the basketball game. He just wanted to go home, cry and drown his emotions in meat buns, not sit in uncomfortable bleachers on the other side of the gym from his ex-best friends. </p><p>The only good thing about this whole thing was getting to see Kuroko Tetsuya play again.</p><p>Hinata remembers meeting his first friend in middle school, who was the exact opposite of himself.</p><p>-----</p><p>Hinata was nervous, that wasn’t anything new, he got nervous about all sorts of things: meeting new people, sports games and tests, and just about everything else under the sun. But this was a whole new brand of nervousness, he was trying out for one of the most famous basketball teams. </p><p>	Teiko was difficult to get into in the first place, but after it skyrocketed into fame the previous year for 5 basketball prodigies, everyone and their grandmother wanted in. People who had never picked up a basketball were suddenly attempting to join teams left and right. </p><p>	Hinata knew he had been playing basketball longer than a lot of the other athletes trying out, but that didn’t mean he was going to make the team. Despite his sky-high dreams of one day being the ace of a volleyball team or being a star player for basketball, Hinata knew there was little to no chance he would make the first string team. They were well established with 5 prodigies, as well as experienced upperclassmen; there was no space for Hinata.</p><p><i>‘But that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be room someday!’</i> Hinata told himself as he made his way through the halls towards the gym, his stomach twisting with nerves.</p><p> <i>‘Oh gosh, what if I don’t even make the third-string team!’</i><br/>
Hinata was no stranger to intrusive thoughts, but ones that questioned his athletic ability always hit the hardest. His stomach turned violently, and Hinata looked upwards, hoping to find the nearest bathroom. His endless nerves combined with hard-hitting intrusive thoughts almost always ended with him losing his lunch. </p><p>	When his eyes found the blessed bathroom sign, Hinata all but ran to it. Not even bothering to check to see if he was alone, Hinata fell to his knees and bent over the toilet, losing his lunch. He could feel the tears burning the corners of his eyes,<i> ‘I thought I was done throwing up with nerves’</i> he silently sniffed.<i> ‘I’m in middle school now, and middle schoolers don’t throw up!’</i></p><p>Out of the blue, there was a gentle hand on his back, rubbing in slow circles. A soft voice followed the gentle touch “It’s okay,” the voice was slow, and monotone but not in a mocking manner. “It happens to the best of us.” </p><p>The voice continued to give soft reassurances as Hinata heaved. After maybe 3 minutes, too long in Hinata’s opinion, he felt good enough to lean against the bathroom wall and look at his angel. </p><p>There wasn’t really anything too memorable about his helper, besides his light blue hair, but who was Hinata to talk about obscene hair colors. It was obvious that the boy was a fellow Teiko student, he was wearing the uniform after all, but he didn’t seem much taller than Hinata.   “Sorry,” Hinata squeaked out, “I thought I was alone.”</p><p>The stranger hummed “It’s okay, nobody really notices me even in perfect health.”  The boy shook his head, “But we don’t need to talk about that. What has got you so worked up?”</p><p>Hinata closed his eyes in shame, “I’m trying out for the basketball team, y’know one of the best in the country.” Hinata shivered at the thought and gave a sad laugh, “I thought I had my nerves under control, but I guess not.”</p><p>“Do you think you won’t make it?” The soft voice questioned.<br/>
“I have no clue, and I have been playing basketball for as long as I can remember.” Hinata gave a long sigh, before carefully standing up.” But that doesn’t mean I can measure up with the prodigies.” </p><p><i>‘Sometimes experience just doesn’t measure up to raw talent,’</i> Hinata thought,<i> ‘Sometimes I don’t even know why I try.’</i><br/>
Interrupting Hinata’s pity parade, the blue haired boy spoke “I think you will be just fine because even prodigies have flaws, you just have to find them and use them to work around the strengths.”<br/>
Hinata moved towards the sink and decided that the fastest way to get over the nausea was to splash a bit of cold water on his face.</p><p>The stranger started to walk out the door, but turned back for a moment and spoke, “In fact, I know you will make the team.”</p><p>And with that statement, the stranger let the door close behind him, disappearing from Hinata’s sight.</p><p>Hinata stood in front of the sink, and took a deep breath, letting the statement bounce around in his skull. ‘<i>Someone thinks I can do this</i>’ Hinata nodded to himself. He wasn’t just trying out for himself anymore, he was going to prove--</p><p>Hinata gave a small laugh, he forgot to get the boy's name!</p><p>No matter, he was still going to prove him right!</p><p>With his head held high, Hinata exited the bathroom and headed toward the gym, unknowingly passing a directory, broadcasting that the tryout gym is in the opposite direction.</p><p>----</p><p>Now that Hinata literally didn’t have anything to throw up now, he was pretty confident he wouldn’t embarrass himself. Or at least not too badly. </p><p>As long as it was just the coaches and other students, and no super tall people, he would be fine. He repeated this to himself as he approached the gym doors. He slowly opened the door, the small clicking of the lock being the only sound besides a few squeaks of shoes. </p><p>‘<i>Huh</i>’ Hinata was surprised as he glanced around the room, ‘<i>I thought there would be more people. Or people in general.</i>’ Hinata took one step into the gym, before running into a brick wall. </p><p>Hinata slowly let his eyes trail up this brick wall of a person, who seemed to be the size of a skyscraper. The blood drained from his face, and his breath caught in his throat.</p><p>‘<i>Oh god, that isn’t the coach,</i>’ His brain struggled to think as water started to fill his eyes and cotton filled his ears, ‘<i>That is another student, really… really, REALLY tall student!</i>’ Hinata felt his knees become jello before hitting the polished gym floors as he realized, ‘<i>I am so screwed, that is another student, I am never going to make the team…</i>’ Hinata found himself lost in the raging storm of ugly intrusive thoughts, he found it impossible to tell what was real and what was inside his head. His lungs refused to inhale, and his mouth was full of sand.</p><p>He felt like he was dying.</p><p>---</p><p>Murasakibara had no clue how he was going to explain this to Akashi. If he told his captain the truth, that he was trying to go get more snacks without telling anyone, he would get a lecture about eating during practice. But how else was he supposed to explain the small hyperventilating orange child on the ground. </p><p>It was no secret that Murasakibara was intimidating at the best of times, at a staggering 6’1 and still growing, even adults cowered before him. Murasakibara thought he had seen all the reactions, from people assuming he was an adult (completely ignoring the school uniform) to small screams. But a small child on the gym floor crying was a new one, and Murasakibara had no clue where to start to make this better.</p><p>As Murasakibara was considering which type of pocky the child would want, he realized the lack of shoes squeaking on the floors. He felt an ice-cold gaze make it’s way up his back before a matching voice echoed his initial thoughts, “Murasakibara, what is going on here?”</p><p>Murasakibara turned to face his team with a shrug, “I dunno,” he started, “I bumped into him as I was going to get a snack. He just freaked out, and I have no clue what to do.”</p><p>The monotone factual voice of Midorima came to the rescue, “The child is having a panic attack, you buffoon.” The greenette moved past Murasakibara and knelt next to the child. “Will one of you go get him some water?” Midorima asked as he began to softly reassure the small boy.</p><p>Minutes passed, and to the entire team's relief, the boy was calming down. </p><p>A small “I’m sorry” broke the careful silence. Midorima’s hand froze on the boy’s back and he looked back to the team in a panic. Midorima knew how to calm people down from a panic attack, but he was clueless when it came to emotions. Thankfully, Kise jumped to his rescue.</p><p>“Oh no! Don’t apologize, please!” Kise was quick to join Midormia at the boy’s side. “It happens to everyone!” </p><p>Kise leaned as if to tell a secret, and whispered loudly, “I was actually looking for an excuse to not practice!” He gave a wink to the orangette and gave a sigh of relief when the boy let out a small giggle. </p><p>“Why would you not want to practice?” The boy finally let his eyes leave the floor and he looked at Kise in confusion. “That’s the fun part! Getting to spend time with your team, improving, and it means you don’t have to do homework.” The small boy smiled and the entire team felt their hearts stop.</p><p>Aomine, who had remained a silent guard through this entire ordeal, was able to come up with one singular coherent thought. ‘<i>Sunshine child must be protected.</i>’</p><p>-----</p><p>Once Hinata felt like he had enough oxygen to be human again, he stood on shaky legs and proceeded to profusely apologise. “I am so sorry for interrupting, I am so sorry. I’m sorry for causing a distract-”</p><p>“Enough of that,” A cold voice interjected. “You are perfectly fine, no need to apologize.” Hinata looked up from the gym floors to meet mismatched eyes. </p><p>Hinata began to stutter out another apology when a tanned arm rested on his shoulders. “Hey, Captain said no more sorrys!” The voice sounded warm, and Hinata followed it back to its owner, a boy who, once again, was taller than the orangette. </p><p>“Are you trying out for the team?” The tanned boy asked, glancing at Hinata’s workout clothes.</p><p>“Uhh,” Hinata stalled, “I mean, I guess I am. Or was. I’m kinda lost.”</p><p>The tall blonde to his left spoke, “Well then!” He clapped his hands “Let’s get you to tryouts!” Hinata found himself trapped within a circle of the basketball players, all escorting him down the halls. </p><p>As Hinata glanced around, watching the greenette slap the blonde’s arm, he realized he didn’t feel so anxious anymore. </p><p>-----------</p><p>After the tryouts, Hinata seemed to feel even more anxious than before. Waiting for results was even more nerve-wracking than actually trying out because there was literally nothing Hinata could do. When it came to actually trying out, Hinata could at least give it his all, and be active in attempting to get his spot, but now all he could do was twiddle his thumbs during class and hope that he made it. </p><p>3 classes and far too many anxiety attacks later, it was the end of the school day and Hinata gathered the courage to check to see if results had been posted, once again. Turning the corner to the locker rooms, he found a crowd of fellow students huddled around the sports bulletin board. </p><p>The results had been posted.</p><p> </p><p>While Hinata often cursed his short stature as it made playing sports difficult, and many people mistook him for an elementary school student, sometimes it was helpful to navigate crowds as he could get under arms and around people with them noticing. Approaching the front, Hinata took a deep breath and looked at the results.</p><p>His heart stopped.</p><p>
  <i>First String.</i>
</p><p>What</p><p>The</p><p>Actual</p><p>Fu-.</p><p>Even though a good number of the first string graduated, and many of the bench seats were open, it seemed as though everyone had agreed that the first string was off-limits, with the Miracles running the show.</p><p>But he actually made it, not just on the team, but on THE FIRST STRING. Hinata felt as though his face would break in two with how wide his smile was. He really was going to have to thank the mystery boy and the team. </p><p>Flying into the locker room and rapidly changing, possibly putting his pants on backward, Hinata was sprinting to the gyms. He barely recognized the gym he had mistakenly entered during tryouts, and he figured that maybe the team inside would know where to find the first string gym. </p><p>He gently opened the door, hesitant to bother the team if they were practicing. Thankfully, voices greeted him. He found himself slowly coming up behind the group huddle, complete with a rainbow of different hair colors. </p><p>It was the short redhead whose voice Hinata was able to hear first. </p><p>“We got new players,” He addressed the team. The rest of them grumbled, “Are any of them good?” The tall bluenette huffed.<br/>
The redhead silenced the group with a glare, “Most of them are second-string moving up to fill space, but we got one first year.” Hinata felt bad for whoever that was, judging by the team’s reaction.<br/>
“You have GOT to be kidding me Akashiicchi! A first-year?!” That was the nice blonde.<br/>
“I doubt he is any good.” The greenette.<br/>
“He must be tall.” The giant purple one.</p><p>The redhead, Akashi, got their attention again. “It doesn’t matter if he is any good, he is just a bench warmer. We are the first string, we haven't lost a game yet.”</p><p>Hinata felt his smile slide off his face, <i>this was the first string team</i>. He honestly, didn’t know if he could have messed up anymore. Crying, panicking in front of them! Gosh, he could never look them in the eye!</p><p>Hinata spun around, content to silently sneak off before running from the country. As he reached the door a voice caught him off guard, “Orange boy?”</p><p>He froze and slowly turned around to see the group staring at him. Oh no...</p><p>“Uhh, hi?” He forced out, his voice an octave higher than usual. “You wouldn’t happen to know where the first string gym is would you?”</p><p>---------</p><p>Hinata found himself pulled back to the present, the squeaking of basketball shoes sounding like home. His boyfriend's warm hand in his, and his team sitting around him, reminded him of the good times of middle school. Kise taking him to a photoshoot and dressing him up in fancy clothes, Midorima helping him with homework so he wouldn’t get kicked off the team. </p><p>Trying out new snacks with Murasakibara. Racing Aomine at every turn. It was fun, being friends and teammates that could rely on one another. It was fun winning together as well, but only for a short while.</p><p>Hinata caught himself scanning the crowd for a familiar set of rainbow hair, missing their playful arguments and competitions. </p><p>Maybe, just maybe. It could be like that again.</p><p>It was the winning that corrupted the friendship, right? They had so much fun outside of basketball, maybe if he never played with them, he could keep the good parts. </p><p>But maybe that was wishful thinking. </p><p>As the basketball game was coming to a close, Serin in the lead, Hinata leaned over to his boyfriend. </p><p>“I think I want to talk to them, in person.” He whispered, “Would you come with me?”</p><p>Tobio nodded, squeezing Hinata’s hand, “I’ll be with you.” He murmured back. </p><p>Hinata reached down towards his bag, rummaging around to find his phone. Pulling out the scuffed orange phone, he opened his, squinting slightly at the bright screen. Selecting a group chat he hadn’t opened in two years, he forced his frozen fingers to type out a 5-word message.</p><p>”<i>Meet me at our court.</i>”</p><p>-------</p><p>When Hinata had told the team he was meeting up with some people, and he would be back at the bus by departure time, Daichi attempted to ignore his boyfriend’s knowing look, screaming I was right! He was worried, but Kageyama stepped up and said he would go with him, which eased some of his fatherly instincts. </p><p>He reminded the pair to keep him updated, and watched them take off into Tokyo’s busy streets. </p><p>----</p><p>Hinata shivered slightly at the cooler air at the basketball court, one where the Miracles and himself would come to play friendly games of streetball. After a few weeks, it became common knowledge that the court was the Miracle’s, and many basketball groups steered clear. </p><p>While full of good memories, it was bittersweet. Hinata pulled his phone once again, checking to see if the message was real.</p><p>A reply from Akashi, <i>‘We will be there.’</i> The message didn't give anything away, just four simple words with no second meaning behind them. Hinata could feel his stomach rising to meet his heart, and felt his heart stop when he saw the silhouette of 6 people at the court entrance. The group came to stand across from the pair of crows, and Hinata readied himself to be yelled at. </p><p>“Hey guys,” His voice came out a croak. “It’s been a while.”</p><p>“That it has.” Akashi’s ice-cold voice didn’t waver. While extremely unnerving, Hinata knew it was a way to protect himself. “Why did you wish to meet?” he questioned.</p><p>Hinata grasped Tobio’s hand and steeled himself, “I know it wasn’t fair of me to leave without any notice,” he began.</p><p>“You got that right,” Aomine interrupted. </p><p>“I know I hurt you,” Hinata continued, meeting each boy’s eyes, “And I hope you know you hurt me too, but this isn’t a blame game.” </p><p>He paused, took a deep breath, and forced the final words out of his mouth.</p><p>“I think I want to try and be friends again.” Hinata snapped his eyes shut, not wishing to see the rejection along with hearing it. </p><p>It was Midorima’s steady voice that broke the thick silence between the sides. ‘You’re right.” </p><p>Now that was a first, maybe once a year Midorima conceded that someone else was right. </p><p>“This isn’t a blame game,” The greenette continued, “We were mean and judgemental towards you and our actions were not those of friends.”</p><p>Midormia stepped forward, and Hinata tensed. “I’m sorry, for everything and I, for one, would also like to try and be friends again.”</p><p>Murasakibara was next to step forward, “I did not act as a senpai should, and I miss our snack times. Maybe we can try again.” Hinata found himself wrapped in a hug from the giant, a small I’m sorry reading his ears.<br/>
Aomine sighed and appeared to curl in on himself, “You know I hate admitting I was wrong, but I should have never called you those names. I’m sorry.” The dark-skinned boy looked to the distance, “I hope maybe we can race again.”</p><p>Kise didn’t say a word when he reached for Hinata but froze and pulled his hands back. The blonde reached into his pocket and pulled out a worn bracelet, obviously homemade. </p><p>Hinata’s eyes welled up at the sight. “I thought you threw that away,” he quietly said, stepping towards the blond.</p><p>“I did,” Kise admitted, “But I went back and found it after I realized how wrong I was.” </p><p>Hinata remembered giving the bracelet to Kise, his symbol of friendship.<br/>
“ I want to try again as well.”</p><p>Akashi took a deep breath and glanced at his former teammates. “I missed you all,” He allowed the moment of weakness to become words. “I deeply apologize for my actions.” He slowly walked towards Hinata, “I hope you can forgive me.” He forced out. </p><p>Hinata turned towards the final teammate, the phantom sixth man. One he had yet to see again. He found himself wrapped in a tight hug, and light blue hair in his face. “I missed you,” Kuroko murmured. </p><p>Hinata pulled free and looked at the Teiko team, and then at his boyfriend who glanced at the time before mouthing  <i>30 minutes.</i> </p><p>“How about we go get ice cream, like old times?” Hinata asked, and to his surprise, everyone nodded. </p><p>The group began to walk to their favorite convenience store to get ice cream, Kageyama trailing behind. </p><p>Kageyama enjoyed seeing the smile on his boyfriend's face, but he wondered if the orangette knew he and his teammates' hair made up a rainbow.</p><p>He should probably tell them.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Gosh, this took me about 4 months to write, although not consistently, and I honestly still think it needs a lot of work. Please let me know if you see any mistakes and constructive criticism is welcome!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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